John Kodera Takes Over Sony Interactive Entertainment, Andrew House Steps Down

John (Tsuyoshi) Kodera has been appointed President and Chief Executive Officer, SIE with Andrew House stepping down from the role.

Sony Interactive Entertainment is undergoing some major changes . Kodera, who is currently the Deputy President of SIE, has been promoted to the top spot effective immediately. Andrew House, who has shepherded the PlayStation 4 into it’s dominant position, will remain as SIE Chairman through the year in order to ensure a smooth transition. Afterwards, Mr. House will become the Director and Chairmen of SIE.

Andrew House has been working Sony for over 27 years, but it wasn’t till 2011 that he began working for PlayStation. Under his leadership, Mr. House successfully launched the PlayStation 4 and turned it into the juggernaut it is today. According to Sony, PS4 sales are estimated to reach 78 million units this fiscal year. John Kodera has been with Sony since 1992, and began working on PlayStation in 2013. He has been responsible for the launch and enhancement of key network services for the platform. These include the PlayStation Store, PS+, PlayStation Now.

It’s not immediately clear why Sony ended up making this decision, or if Mr. House just wanted to step down. Under Mr. House, the PlayStation business has thrived, becoming the dominant console this-generation. He has also launched a mid-tier upgrade capable of playing games in 4K, and a VR headset. We wish Mr. House the best in his new role.

You can check out all the statements concerning the transition below:

“When I passed the baton of leadership for Sony Computer Entertainment to Andrew House in 2011, I was confident that I was leaving the PlayStation business in the best possible hands, and so it has proved. I’m extremely grateful to Andy for the great contribution he has made to evolving the PlayStation business, and firmly positioning it as one of the drivers of our future growth. Andy and I go back more than 20 years and spent much of this time together, dedicating ourselves to ensuring the success of the PlayStation business. I would like to thank Andy for his contribution over many years, and wish him every success in the future,” said Kazuo Hirai, President and CEO, Sony Corporation. “John Kodera has led Sony’s network service business since 2013 and played a pivotal role in its growth. He is a truly global executive, possessing strategic understanding, strength of conviction and outstanding leadership capabilities. Since his appointment as Deputy President of SIE last year, alongside Andy he has also been responsible for the company’s overall business strategy and product planning. With the significance of network services increasing across the entire Sony Group, I believe that John is ideally equipped to build on the foundations Andy has left in place, and drive Sony’s game and network services business to further growth and excitement going forward.”

“I’m tremendously proud of what we’ve built with PlayStation and Sony Interactive Entertainment: entertaining millions globally with the best in games and creating a fully fledged digital entertainment company. PlayStation has been a huge part of my life for more than 20 years but with the business having achieved record-breaking success, now seemed to be the right time for me to pursue new challenges. I shall always treasure the friendships and people that have made SIE such a wonderful place to work. I’m also grateful to PlayStation fans and gamers around the world for their loyalty and support. John and the team at SIE are world-class and I know the future of PlayStation is very bright,” said Mr. House.

“It’s a great honor to take on the role of President and CEO, SIE, and I’m very grateful to Kaz and Andy for the trust and faith they have shown in me. I intend to build on the amazing progress Andy has made enhancing the PlayStation brand and expanding the game and network services business, and will strive to further strengthen the unique value proposition we are able to offer via the PlayStation platform. I look forward to working together with the SIE team, and everyone across the Sony Group, to continue to strengthen relations with our business partners, and provide the best possible interactive entertainment experiences, that only PlayStation can deliver.” said Mr. Kodera.